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Do you remember when you were a kid and you played Wiffleball? Whether you like the skinny long yellow bat, or the short fat red one, pretty much everyone born within the last forty years have played Wiffleball sometime in their life. And why not? A Wiffleball bat and ball set can be purchased for just a few dollars at literally any store. From local grocery stores to big discount retailers such as Wal-Mart, Wiffleball bat and ball sets are pretty easy to find; especially now that spring is almost in full bloom.

While the company that created Wiffleball had created their own special rules and regulations for this fantastic game, most people just like to play with their friends and smack the ball around. The thing that makes Wiffleball so great is the fact that the ball really can not hurt anything. Seriously, it's a hollow chunk of plastic that makes a really sweet noise when it is thrown.

Because you really can't damage anything with the ball, Wiffleball has become quite popular as an indoor sport in elementary schools all across the United States. Since its hard to really make a Wiffle ball go long distance, there is no need for a large playing area, which of course also makes it an ideal game for gyms.

One really interesting fact about Wiffleball is that the company that produces the official Wiffleball game sets (bat & ball) do not use any form of advertising to promote their product. While they have done so in the past, the company had quickly realized that their profits remained the same without advertisements, and thus all their sales are due to the fact that people enjoy hitting a ball with a bat with their friends, and thus they purchase their own Wiffleball set.

If you have small children and do not own a Wiffleball bat and ball set, go out and buy one. They are dirt cheap, and trust me when I say that playing Wiffleball with your kids will produce some really nice memories for them. Ask any college student today if they ever played Wiffleball when they were a kid, and I guarantee you that you will definitely receive some smiles.

With the Number One Pick, in the 2005 NFL Draft...
Thursday, March 31, 2005

By Jared Field

...the San Francisco 49ers select wide receiver Braylon Edwards from the University of Michigan. There has been speculation, as of late, that the 49ers have not been overly impressed with either of the top two quarterbacks in this year's draft, Alex Smith (Utah) and Aaron Rodgers (California). So, what's a struggling franchise to do? Probably grab the best wide receiver prospect to enter the NFL since Randy Moss. It makes sense. Since Michigan's last second loss on New Year's Day against Texas, Edwards' NFL stock has been rising ever so steadily. He has cemented himself as the best receiver in the draft, supplanting USC's Mike Williams who missed last season for trying to challenge the NFL's draft policy for underclassmen. At 6 foot 3 inches tall and 211 pounds, Edwards has created match-up problems for defenses since he was a freshman. A big receiver who runs a 4.48 second 40-yard-dash, Edwards had entire defensive schemes put into place to stop him--but they rarely worked. Against in-state rival Michigan State this year, Edwards caught three touchdown passes in the second half to beat the stunned Spartans in overtime.

Since, by most accounts, the 49ers wanted USC quarterback Matt Leinart, who chose to stay in school, getting the best player available on offense makes perfect sense. Braylon Edwards is a can't-miss prospect and will have an immediate impact on the NFL.

Here is a list of my other favorite prospects for this year's draft:

Derrick Johnson, LB Texas: At nearly 6 feet and 4 inches tall and 240 pounds, Johnson is an amazingly agile playmaker. He would immediately become one of only a handful of linebackers in the NFL with 4.5 speed. The only knock against Johnson is that he does not possess the prototypical weight for an NFL linebacker.

Kyle Orton, QB Purdue: I actually don't mind the comparisons between Orton and former Boilermaker standout and San Diego Charger, Drew Brees. Orton will be a big body in the pocket standing at 6 feet 4 inches tall and 235 pounds. Orton has an amazingly strong arm and is very accurate throwing from the pocket. There are two knocks against him, however. Orton has a tendency to get lackadaisical in games and does not possess much in the way of athleticism.

Bryan Randall, QB Virginia Tech: This kid possesses amazing talent. He has a decent arm and quick feet. He can dodge the pass rush and make things happen in the open field. He doesn't have prototypical size to play quarterback in the NFL, but I would like to see what he can do.

Ronnie Brown, RB Auburn: The best running back in this year's draft, hands down. This guy is a beast. He runs a 4.44 40-yard-dash and weighs in at 233 pounds, need I say more?

J.J. Arrington, RB California: He could be the steal of the draft for running backs. He is not as big and tall as Ronnie Brown, but he is elusive and has 4.45 speed.

Matt Jones, WR Arkansas: Jones is my favorite Razorback of all-time. He actually was Arkansas' quarterback for the past few seasons and also played on the basketball team. Matt Jones is an amazing athlete, running a 4.39 40-yard-dash at 6 feet 6 inches tall and 242 pounds.

Mark Bradley, WR Oklahoma: Big and fast, Bradley possesses both breakaway speed and good hands. Look for him to start in the NFL next season.

Dan Cody, DE Oklahoma: Cody comes in a little underweight to play defensive end in the NFL, but he is a great athlete and a tireless worker. He is worth a top 15 pick.

Shawne Merriman, DE Maryland: He is probably the best all-around athlete in this year's draft. Merriman comes in at better than 6 feet four inches tall and 272 pounds. That sounds decent until you find out that he has a 41-inch vertical leap. At this point, I think the Detroit Lions have him pegged as their top pick.

Marlin Jackson, CB Michigan: Has 4.45 speed and prototypical size to play the Cornerback position. Jackson had a lot of experience playing both safety and cornerback at Michigan and was the Wolverines' top dog in the secondary.

I am looking forward to this year's draft; the Lions haven't disappointed me in quite some time.

Sports drinks. They can be purchased just about anywhere, but what is in them? Why do we need them? Are they beneficial for you after exercise? What about other options?

My daughter is on the track team at her school. She had a meet and asked if we could buy some of the brand name sports drinks. I inquired why, and she told me that everyone else was drinking them. Hmm, I got to wondering, what is the difference between them and a bottle of water?

Well here is what I found out. Water is actually better for hydration after strenuous exercise, but what about juice, soda, or a sports drink? Where do they come into play?

Juice is not really desirable for hydration, since the fructose that is found in juice actually inhibits the rate of absorption. Even though, it has vitamins and nutrients, it really isn't a very good thirst quencher.

A soda of any sorts really isn't good for you after exercising. The added sugar is just not good for your teeth or bones at all (in large amounts). Although the caffeine in the soda gives you a slight energy boost, in the long run, after the energy high wears off, you are back where you started, so sodas are not advisable.

Coffee, tea or beer? Well, coffee and tea are diuretics and beer acts as a dehydrator to your body, so that leaves us with sports drinks and good old water.

The difference between water and sports drink is clear.......no pun intended, but since water has no fructose like fruit juice or sugar like soft drinks have, so water really hydrates your body much faster than the other two. With sports drinks or fruit juices also, there are the extra calories that they can add (kind of an oxy-moron to someone who is trying to lose weight) and prolonged usage of sports drinks and fruit juices are not really good for your teeth either. But what about the added vitamins and minerals that a sports drink can contribute? Well, true, but when it comes down to salt, sports drink really don't give your body enough to replace what you have already lost, so you probably need to top that off with a healthy salty snack, such as peanuts.

So really, after spending time after exercising, and before you reach for that drink, examine your choices and pick the one that's best for you.

Here we are on the brink of a new baseball season, yet with the same old twist for Cubs fans. Just like last year, the Chicago Cubs will head into April with an ailing pitching staff. Ace right-hander Mark Prior and closer Joe Borowski will both likely begin the season on the disabled list, while many questions still surround the condition of starter Kerry Wood's shoulder. The Cubs opened 2004 in similar fashion, when Prior missed the first two months of the season due to a sore elbow and an Achilles tendon injury, and Wood sat out from May to July with biceps tendonitis. By the time the Cubs pitching staff was healthy, the St. Louis cardinals had a lead in the division that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the season.

Prior is suffering from inflammation in his elbow. He has seen limited action in spring training, throwing for just three innings against Seattle back on March 10, but has been pitching simulated games under the watchful eyes of Cubs' coaches and trainers. Depending on his progress, Prior could be ready to make his first start as early as April 10 or as late as April 19.

Borowski will likely miss six to eight weeks with a broken wrist sustained while attempting to field a ball hit back to the mound in a spring training game against the Royals. This setback comes on the heels of a shortened 2004 season that saw Borowski miss 109 games because of shoulder surgery. Borowski's latest injury opens the door for LaTroy Hawkins to step in as closer.

Wood, meanwhile, will get to test his shoulder in a spring training start against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. Out since March 9 with bursitis, tomorrow's performance will certainly go a long way towards predicting whether or not Wood will be ready to pitch in Chicago's home opener against Milwaukee on April 8 at Wrigley Field. Wood will be held out of the Cubs' first series of the season against the Diamondbacks.

For disappointed Cubs fans, all we can do is hope that the rest of the team carries the pitching staff through April and that the Cardinals get off to a slow start. Otherwise, this could shape up to be a very long season.

By Jared Field


Being an admitted basketball junkie hasn't achieved a whole lot for me in this life, and last night was no different. At fairly regular intervals during the 2005 McDonald's All-America Slamfest in Mishawaka, Indiana, the spectators were inundated with free stuff--I got nothing. (At least my friend, Hilary, took something for free off the face before settling for nothing.) But, getting nothing for free is hardly traumatic when I consider what I received for a mere ten bucks--plus 400 miles worth of gas. The McDonald's All-America Slamfest featured arguably the nation's 24 best high school basketball players on one court. This exhibition is always held two days prior to the actual All-America game and is extremely fan-friendly--especially for those lucky stiffs who got something for free.

After wading through an hour and a half of introductions, mindless vitriol and a three-point shooting contest, the main event was brought to the fore. As the players were warming up, the fans got a taste of what was to come. In fact, some of the dunks in warm-ups actually trumped the competitive dunks. The contest, from the very start, really came down to two dunkers, Amir Johnson, Rick Pitino's prized recruit at Louisville, and Gerald Green, the player of the year heading to Oklahoma State. (For the record, Duke recruiting Josh McRoberts was actually leading going into the final round, but, the 6-10 whiteboy was well out of his league.) In the end, Amir Johnson's missed dunk cost him the championship. His second dunk, one in which he sprinted the length of floor, leaping from the foul line and slamming it home, was given a perfect score. But, it was not enough to surmount Gerald Green's two made dunks. Gerald caught his second dunk off the backboard, taking the ball through his legs before slamming it home.

All-in-all it was a great night and well worth the ten dollars.

Random observations from the 2005 McDonald's All-America Slamfest:

--Not a single one of these players decided to go straight to the NBA. What gives? None of these players committed to Ohio State, so I guess money isn't a paramount concern.

--The Weikamp Center, on the campus of Bethel College, was filled WELL beyond capacity. The crowd was implored to squeeze in as much as possible--I didn't move an inch. In the end, better than 100 people with tickets were turned away at the door. According to the South Bend Tribune, these patrons were given tickets to Wednesday's game. I guess coming late pays off sometimes, with all due respect to President Lincoln.

--I was very pleased with the performance of my favorite All-American, Bay City, Michigan's, Eric Devendorf. He ran out of time leaving an entire rack of balls and still scored 16 points in the three-point contest, two less than the winner's 18. Devendorf will make the graduation of Gerry McNamara a little more manageable for Syracuse fans.

--"He's not fat, he's Husky." The University of Connecticut is getting a veritable behemoth. Andrew Bynum is a 7 foot, 300 pound giant who will allow Josh Boone to play power forward next year, leaving Charley Villaneuva to play the wing. That will be an amazing lineup and should be enough to get the Huskies back into the Final Four.

--I failed to mention the names of the judges for the dunk contest: Ahman Green from the Green Bay Packers was in the house, Chris Thomas from Notre Dame's hoop squad was also
there along with former Irish star, Laphonso Ellis, and the "Real Deal" Evander Holyfield.

--Speaking of Holyfield, I couldn't help but to think about how many of the hundred people who were turned away at the door might have been Evander's illegitimate kids.

--I'm not done with you, Evander. I doubt I am the only spectator who appreciated your ability to answer four questions during your in-game interview with six words. You are a real piece of work.

--I saw a grown man run to the concession stand after the contest to be first in line for 50-cent hot dogs. I can only assume he didn't get any free stuff, either.

--The 50-cent hot dogs may have been the only "real deal" in the gym this night.

--Ronald McDonald scares children; I will never be convinced otherwise.

--To the trooper on Interstate 69 last night, you better get a laser gun, I could see you coming.


Here is a picture I took of the festivities along with one I snapped of Eric Devendorf:

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In an earlier post I expressed my fear that the LSU women's basketball team might be getting a little too cocky after a series of blowouts in the NCAA Tournament. Those fears were born out in their game against Duke when they fell behind in the first half. Although they came back to win the game, it just goes to show what can happen to a good team if they're not pushed to the limit on a fairly consistent basis.
No matter how much talent a team has, heart and desire have to play into the contest. I'm not saying that LSU doesn't have heart, but they are human and after awhile, anyone can get the idea that they're unstoppable, especially after a series of easy wins and a great season like LSU has had.
The fact that they came back strong in the second half gives me hope that this game against Duke was a wake up call and that the easy stuff is over. With two of the top players in the nation, LSU certainly has the players to go all the way to the championship. Whether they will or not remains to be seen but all the ingredients are there.
Tonight we'll get to watch Stanford and Michigan St and Rutgers vs Tennessee which should both be interesting battles. I like Stanford to pull it off, but I'm torn between Rutger and Tennessee.
All in all, with the LSU women in the contest and the overtime battles in the men's column, it's been a good tournament. March Madness is really living up to the billing this year.

At 34 years of age, Annika Sorenstam is on top of the women's golf world. She has an established track record of success that gets longer with each passing week, month and year. Unknown to many golf fans, it is a record that tops anything that the celebrated Tiger Woods has done on the men's tour.

Last weekend, at the first of the Ladies Professional Golf Association Major Championships, Sorenstam routed the field, winning the Kraft Nabisco Championship by a full 8 shots. It was the eighth Major Title of Annika's career and her 59th professional tournament win.

Though Sorenstam has entered just three events in 2005, she has three tournament victories. By also winning her last two starts in 2004, she has now also won five tournaments in a row. Going back to the last nine tournaments she has played in, she has seven titles. Without a doubt, in the last few months of 2004 and the first three months of 2005, she has served notice to the female golf world.

Whenever Annika tees it up, everyone else might just as well be thinking second place.

The winning streak is no surprise to those who have followed the Stockholm, Sweden native throughout her amateur and professional career. After all she managed to win 7 collegiate golfing titles while at the University of Arizona and was the 1992 World Amateur Champion. The fact is, she has always seemed destined for professional accolades and she has done nothing over the years to tarnish that view.

But in spite of her run of success, all of her wins may pale when compared to her performance in May of 2003 at the PGA Tour's Bank of America Colonial Open in Fort Worth, Texas. For the first time since 1945, a woman played against the men in a PGA Golf Tournament. Competing against the best golfers in the world and teeing it up from the same tees as the male professionals, Annika more than held her own, outperforming 15 members of the men's field. Surrounded by massive galleries and facing enormous pressure to perform, Sorenstam toured the course with incredible poise and skill. It was a performance to be forever etched in the minds of male and female spectators alike, a once in a lifetime sporting event.

However, much like Tiger Woods, Annika measures her performance by winning major tournaments. Therefore, last year, was a down year in that regard for the Swede. Much to her disappointment, she managed to win only one of the Ladies Major Tournaments in 2004. But in contrast, for any other women's player, it would have actually been the best year of their respective career. Showing just how far she is above the field, a disappointing year for Annika still translated to eight tournament victories on the LPGA Tour and ten tournament titles world-wide.

Currently, Sorenstam is striking the ball as good as a golfer can. For the mere mortals of the golfing world, Annika has another streak going that is easier for the average hacker to relate to. The last time she shot an over par round was on June 27th, 2004, when she shot a one over par 73.

At 34, Annika is in her golfing prime, a time when skill and experience come together as a professional. She has already established a standard for the female golfing world, but the final legacy of this phenomenal talent is yet unwritten.

Her goal is to win all four of the women's majors in the same calendar year. And for 2005, it's one down and three to go.

When he abruptly quit as head coach of the Boston Celtics in the middle of the 2001 season, Boston sports fans labeled him a quitter. But when his Louisville men's basketball team came from 20 points down in their "Elite Eight" game with West Virginia to win on Saturday, Cardinal coach Rick Pitino and his team appeared to be anything but a quitter.

The amazing comeback victory by the Cardinals re-established Pitino as one of the games greatest coaches, at least at the collegiate level. Adding another page to an already illustrious coaching resume, the win propelled Pitino's Louisville team to the 2005 NCAA Final Four. It will be the fifth Final Four of Pitino's career and the Louisville Cardinals will be the third different college program that he has taken to college basketball's premiere event.

The win did mark an major comeback for the slick-haired coach. Often labeled a maverick but a winner, Pitino fell on hard times in his second stint as an NBA coach. Returning to collegiate coaching four years ago, Pitino began erasing the bitter memories of a failed attempt to resurrect the NBA's signature team, the Boston Celtics.

His lack of success with the Celtics came as a complete surprise to everyone in the basketball world. From 1978 through 1997, Pitino had made the lengthy climb to the top of the coaching profession. He began his career at Boston University, a smaller Division I school with little prior basketball success. There, Pitino developed the program into a consistent small college competitor, his Terriers winning 91 of 142 games during a five year period.

That record helped Pitino gain an assistant coaching job in the NBA, a move that began a period of rapid changes that lead to his maverick label. After just two years in the NBA, the love for college coaching drew Pitino to Providence College and the Big East Basketball Conference.

His impact on the program was immediate. In just his second year at Providence, the fiery coach took the Friars to the first of Pitino's Final Four appearances Though that Friars team won 25 games, the tournament run came as a complete shock to many. Pitino’s team clearly lacked the talent of many others in the tournament, but winning with a unique pressing and frantic paced style that seemed to overcome his team's weaknesses, Pitino became the talk of the coaching profession.

Utilizing that performance as a launching pad, Pitino parlayed that success into a head coaching job with the New York Knicks, the team that he had served as an assistant coach for two years previously. Much like he did at Providence, Pitino had the Knicks among the NBA's elite is just his second season with that club, winning more than 60% of their regular season games and taking that team to the NBA playoffs.

But continuing his maverick style, he again left the NBA for the college game, opting for his fourth coaching job in six years and his fifth in the matter of just 11 years. Pitino took over a Kentucky team in 1989 that was in disarray. The Wildcats were on NCAA probation for violations, and the team lacked in talent and scholarships. Once again, in just his second season at the helm, Pitino had the Wildcats winning and back among college's top basketball programs.

This time, though, the maverick stayed put, beginning one of college basketball's finest runs ever. In eight years at Kentucky, his teams won 27 or more games six times and 30 or more three times. His Wildcats made college basketball's "Elite Eight" five times, the Final Four three times, and earned the 1996 NCAA National Championship. Overall, his teams won 219 games while losing only 50 over the eight year period.

But in 1997, at the top of the college coaching profession, Pitino was lured by a big contract and the chance to coach the NBA's most storied team, the Boston Celtics. The former Boston University Coach and U-Mass player seemed a great choice to Celtics ownership, both because of his former ties to the region and his ability to turn around basketball programs.

However, for the first time in Pitino's storied career, he proceeded to struggle in his role. In three and a half years with the team, Pitino's Celtics lost more often than they won. In fact, he lost more games in each of his three full seasons with the Celtics than he lost in his last six at Kentucky combined. Those teams never came close to earning an NBA playoff spot, the Celtics topping out at 36 wins in 1998 under Pitino, a number that contrasted vividly with his final year at Kentucky where the team won 35 games while playing only half as many games.

An exhausted Pitino resigned from the Celtics in mid-season in 2001, his ego and his reputation taking an enormous hit. The timing led to the quitter label, the lack of success only adding to the barrage of criticism.

However, the fiery coach was not to be out of work long. The Louisville Cardinals soon called and Pitino returned to the college game where he has once again turned around a moribund program. As he had done every place but Boston, by his second season at the helm the Cardinals were among college's most competitive teams, winning 25 of 32 games. This year his team has already won 33 games and if the team captures two more and the NCAA title, Pitino will match the 35 wins his team earned in his final year at Kentucky.

Clearly the quitter label hurt, but statistics indicate Pitino has always been one of the games finest collegiate coaches. He entered this season as the third winningest coach in NCAA tournament play among active coaches. Even prior to the 2005 run to the Final Four, Pitino's tourney record stood at 27 wins and just nine losses, a 75% winning percentage. The four wins under his belt in this year's tourney takes him to an amazing 31-9 in NCAA play.

With two possible games remaining, Pitino is on the verge of a collegiate legacy unlike any other, the chance to win a second NCAA title with another team from the State of Kentucky. Saturday's comeback was indeed storied, both for the Cardinals and their phenomenal coach.

Pitino is back where he belongs, as a coach at the NCAA Final Four.

Well, once again I've managed to miss out on the payoff in the pool for the Final Four. It seems every year I'm just a contributor to the pot and never get to collect, but what the heck? One year I'll break even at least.
I don't really feel that bad about it this year though, as I've sat and watched a lot of the teams expected to go far in the tournament get knocked out pretty quickly.
My biggest surprise was Syracuse. I had them pegged to make the Final Four and was really surprised to see them exit so early. I'm not the only one. One of our local high school basketball coaches, a guy who's been coaching for many years, had Syracuse pegged to win it all.
That's one of the greatest things about the Final Four Tournament, the fact that every year you can expect upsets. The issue becomes not are their going to be upsets, but who is going to be upset? I can remember a few years back when Gonzaga was considered a Cinderella team. Now, after a few years of better than expected performances, Gonzaga gets beat earlier than anyone expected.
Wake Forest was another one of my picks that got knocked out early, but I was really upset by Duke going out before hitting the last round. Duke is a kind of acquired taste for me. I never really paid any attention to them or particularly cared for them until one of our local high school guys played for them. Chris Duhon was a product of Salmen High School here in Slidell, LA. At the time he was playing for Salmen, my son was in the local rec league. Salmen's head basketball coach held a clinic every summer for the local players, and Chris Duhon was always at the camps working with the kids. Since my son got to know him pretty well, we started to watch a lot of the Duke games on TV and since then we've been fans. Now that Chris is with the Chicago Bulls we don't watch as often but we still pull for them.
At least I still have Illinois, whom I've projected to be the National Champs. If they can go all the way, I can still salvage a respectable showing, although probably I won't finish in the money.
It's sure been a great weekend for the tournament. Three of the games have gone into overtime. That's about as good as it gets.
The lineup is now Louisville and Illinois and North Carolina and Michigan State. As I said before I've got Illinois picked to win the whole thing. I think North Carolina is the other side of the equation.
On the women's side, I'm looking for LSU to go all the way. They've got what it takes, but you never know when you start to get up into the tournament, anything can happen. I watched them play Liberty the other day and it was no contest, but being the number one seed helps a lot. I just hope the fact that they've cruised to three consecutive blowouts doesn't get them overconfident.

What really turns you on in sports?

For me the real excitement in sport has to be in the formulation and execution of individual or team tactics for specific games.

Every team, and every individual sportsman or sports woman in whatever sport you care to think of will generally have strengths and weaknesses. No matter how strong and invincible they look, as long as they are human, they will have some soft under belly that somebody can take advantage of to win a game.

I remember the time not too long ago when people were convinced that Mike Tyson was invincible, undefeatable. More on Iron Mike later.

Even computers programmed to play chess against mere mortals have weaknesses and that's why they draw games with humans instead of beating the hell out of them. Well, that is the subject of another article so let us not digress too much here.

The idea is to use your strength to take advantage of the weaknesses of the opponent to register a stunning win. How many memorable games have been won using this basic sports tactic? Actually more than you and I can count.

Mohammed Ali, went into the ramble in the jungle in Congo with George Foreman knowing very well that his opponent was much stronger than he was. He had no illusions as to what would happen if he let a left hook from Foreman catch him off guard. The fight would be over pretty fast and he would be the loser.

So what did Ali do? He tired out and frustrated his opponent by protecting himself and dancing around the ring, always out of reach of Foreman's heavy punches. Then when the fighter was tiring, Ali simply bounced off the ropes and ended the fight.

In fact this was really the essence of Ali as a fighter. His secret of success so to speak. He would always carefully weight his opponent and then use the correct tactics to win. I am sorry to keep on bringing up this great fighter's name in my articles, but it is good to examine the reasons why he deserves the title of "the greatest."

Still on boxing, the first boxer to defeat Mike Tyson was not a great boxer. He simply used the correct tactics to defeat "iron Mike" at his prime. He noticed that as Mike Tyson's reputation grew, the champion ended his fights early. So what would happen if somebody survived the first few rounds and tired out Tyson? So those are exactly the tactics they used, and they won.

This use of tactics to shift the balance of power in a game is what really makes sports exciting for me. What would sports be if it was all entirely predictable, if always the stronger team instead of the smarter one won. I put it to you that it would all be just too boring.

What excitement when the correct tactics gives the world a totally unknown new name winner at Wimbledon? Or causes a rare upset in the NFL?

Let us take another vivid example, this time from the world of soccer. Everybody knows Russian billionaire Roman Abromavich who bought this English soccer club called Chelsea. He used his check book to buy every world class soccer player that he could lay his hands on. But this did not give him a winning team until he got a manager who was able to come up with the right team tactics to suit the club's strengths. The manager's name is of course Jose Mourinho. Jose Mourinho has made all the difference at Chelsea.

Just like all those top team coaches in the NBA.

I really admire the careful thinking that goes behind the formulation of some devastating tactics that change the course of a game. I also greatly admire the thinkers in sports who are behind them.

How similar sports is to real life, all you need to succeed in business or at your job or in life, is to use your strengths to take advantage of the weaknesses of your opponents.

The Illinois Fighting Illini are on their way to the Final Four for the first time in 16 years, thanks to an unbelievable 90-89 overtime win against the Arizona Wildcats. Illinois' fairy tale season looked to be coming to an end when they trailed by 15 points with just over 4 minutes left to play in regulation, but they were able to conjure up one more miracle finish to keep their championship hopes alive.

Led by senior Luther Head and junior Deron Williams, the Illini posted an incredible 20-5 run to close out the second half, as Arizona suffered a total meltdown. All five of Arizona's points during the Illinois run came on free throws.

Illinois clearly had the momentum as the game moved into overtime. Head and Williams again came up big for the Illini, combining to score 8 of Illinois' 10 points. On the other side of the court, Salim Stoudamire, who nailed a last-second jumper to propel Arizona past Oklahoma State in the semifinals, was held to just 9 points and 7 assists in 39 minutes.

Illinois' next opponent is the Louisville Cardinals, who pulled off an amazing come-from-behind victory of their own as they survived 18 three-point bombs from West Virginia and battled back from a 20-point second-half deficit to beat the Mountaineers 93-85 in overtime. Illinois and Louisville will face off on April 2 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. The winner will advance to the national championship game against either North Carolina or Michigan State.

When you think of racquet ball, exactly what do you think of? If you are like most people, tennis comes to mind. Just because both games are played with racquets (and a small ball for the matter) does not mean that the two games are the same. Actually, in reality the games of tennis and racquet ball are fairly more different than they are the same.

You see, racquet ball is played with smaller racquets and a hollow rubber ball, usually blue in color, however the color of the ball is not deemed important. Tennis is also played with racquets and a ball, however that is about all that is similar between the two games.

While tennis is primarily an outdoor game, racquet ball is entirely an indoor game. As such, racquet ball is played in a special court, where everything including the walls, ceiling and floor are used in-game play. They are no 'out of bounds' areas, and because the game of racquet ball involves usage of walls all around you (including above and below), the game is pretty much impossible to play outside.

Still, if there are no 'out of bounds' areas, the question that comes to mind is simply; "What is the specific goal of the game?". The goal of the game is to have two players take turns smashing the small ball throughout the court, trying to make the ball bounce more than once for the other player.

If racquet ball sounds like an easy game, then you have obviously never played it. While the initial concept of the game is quite easy, remembers that racquet ball is not only a game which is difficult to master but also a game of speed. Just imagine how fast a player must move whenever the other player(s) smashes the small rubber ball against the wall. Players? That's right, just like tennis a game of racquet ball can either be played with two or four players. While most people simply play two player games, experienced racquet ball players will play games with four players, although it tends to get pretty crazy.

Racquet ball is usually confused with Squash, a game with the same basic principles of smashing a small rubber ball off a wall. Squash however can be played outside, and is much older than racquet ball. While racquet ball is pretty much an American game, squash can be considered its European cousin.

While tennis will always outshine both racquet ball and squash, racquet ball is rapidly gaining popularity, especially with college students and older men in gym clubs. The fact that racquet ball can be played indoors, and with relatively cheap equipment also add to its popularity. With its growing popularity, perhaps one day racquet ball will outshine tennis.

It's almost April, and that means that baseball fans everywhere are soon going to be watching Major League Baseball. The first game of the 2005 season is scheduled for Sunday, April 3rd, and puts the New York Yankees against the 2004 World Series champions, the Boston Red Sox.

Following this first game, all of the other teams in both the National League and American League will begin their season of one hundred fifty two games. Even though there will be a hundred fifty two games for each team, it always seems that fans are the most excited at the start of the season.

And why wouldn't they be? After a winter of basketball, hockey, and lets not forget football, baseball fans are ready for their turn again. Sure, the weather will be cold and a little rough for the first month of the baseball season, but let's not forget that baseball brings sunny, hot days.

Who will be this years World Series champions? What kind of surprises will be unfolded to baseball fans everywhere this season? The whole controversy over anabolic steroid usage within the Major League ballparks is sure to be mentioned throughout the entire season.

But let's just remember that watching baseball isn't about discussing the usage of anabolic steroids, but rather just watching America's past time.

Do you find yourself always wanting to go out and play paint ball, but find that the whole sport of paint ball has all sorts of problems? Whether you are not playing paint ball because of the high cost of the equipment, the messiness of the game or just the fear that the paint balls will really hurt when they hit you, another game exists that eliminates all of these worries.

The game is laser tag, and can be found in bowling alleys and family restaurants everywhere. Laser tag is a really great alternative to paintball, not only because it is extremely cheap,(the laser tag place provides the equipment) but also because it is not messy at all.

Players of laser tag still carry around rifles; however they also wear vests that are equipped with several sensors. As players run around the course, (usually indoors, and in a maze) they shoot other players sensors, trying to 'kill them off'. Because the game is completely composed of electronics, once a person 'dies', they can not shoot other players until a new game is started. Thus cheating is pretty much non-existent.

While laser tag is a lot of fun, it still can't really compare to the excitement of paint ball. Still if you are the least bit scarred for any reason of paint ball, or have small children who wish to play paint ball, perhaps you should consult your local phone directory and play laser tag. Who knows, laser tag may become one of your favorite new hobbies!

Tonight was the culmination of Coach Tom Izzo's yeoman-like work with this year's Spartans. Early in the season, MSU lost a hard fought battle against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The team knew it squandered a golden opportunity to beat Duke on their home floor, and looked hungry for recompense. Tonight, Michigan State finally exorcised its biggest blue demon by beating Duke 78-68 in front of a capacity crowd in Austin, Texas. The Spartans were led by their junior center, Paul Davis, who scored 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. Going into this game, Coach Izzo knew full well how he was going to exploit the matchups between the two teams:

1.) Giving Duke's big man, Sheldon Williams, his 20 points would not necessarily hurt them because it would keep Paul Davis in the game to accumulate fouls. Sheldon Williams did, eventually, foul out.

2.) Taking Duke's junior sharpshooter, J.J. Redick, out of the game is no easy task, but Coach Izzo knew how to do it. He used his team's size and athletic ability to frustrate Redick into taking bad shots. Give credit to Kelvin Torbert, Michigan State's best defender, for getting into his head.

3.) Pushing the ball against Duke with freshman point guard, Drew Neitzel, was another brilliant strategy installed by coach Izzo. This kept Duke on its collective toes and did not allow Sheldon Williams to establish himself in the paint on defense.

4.) Finally, Coach Izzo orchestrated his substitutions to perfection. He exploited the lack of depth on Duke's bench by using his largesse. The Spartans got significant contributions from Torbert, Bograkos, and Trannon coming off the bench.

The effort the Spartans put into this game tonight is a testament to the preparedness of Michigan State's coaching staff. The Spartans ferociously attacked the offensive and defensive glass, they forced better than 20 turnovers, and made their free throws down the stretch. Congratulations to the Spartans for making it to the Elite Eight, maybe I'll see you in Saint Louis.

Some random Spartan tidbits:

--I can only think that Alan Anderson's NBA stock must be skyrocketing. He has put together a string of great performances in the Tournament this year and I am sure scouts have noticed. I had Anderson pegged as a late second round pick, but his play of late might just put him into the late first or early second round of the NBA draft. Anderson is an amazing all-around talent who has played four positions for the Spartans this year. He is a Minneapolis-born player, so I can maintain at least some semblance of objectivity with respect to AA.

--Give Coach Izzo credit for recruiting amazing athletes who can also play within themselves. I have yet to see a team in college basketball that is more athletic than this year's Spartan team. Between Alan Anderson, Kelvin Torbert, Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager, down time in practices must be fun. Three of the four, with the exception of Anderson, have 40-inch verticals; and that's not all, they can play the all-around game, too.

--Significant minutes for freshman point guard, Drew Neitzel, in the Tournament is bad news for the rest of the Big Ten. This kid is going to be a four-year player for the Spartans and will be a point guard in the likeness of former Spartan great, Scott Skiles. This kid can shoot just as well with his left hand as he can with his right, he has great handles and an amazing work ethic. He beat out Detroit's best, Malik Hairston and Joe Crawford, for the Mr. Basketball award in Michigan last year for good reason. Keep your eye on this kid.

--The City of Flint and the State of Michigan should be proud of the college career of senior Kelvin Torbert. The former Gatorade National Player of the Year has done everything asked of him during his four years on the team and more. He hasn't been the offensive force he was expected to be, but he has developed into a great all-around player. Every year he is rated as one of the top three defenders in the Big Ten. Good luck to you, KT, in the future. You are still Flinttown's favored son.

--Even though I have been one of Paul Davis' biggest detractors, I do recognize that he really put Michigan State over the top tonight. He played great on both sides of the ball in the biggest game of his career. But, being the forward-thinker that I am, he still needs to hit the weights. If Davis put on a mere ten pounds for next season he would drastically increase his ability to play both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball--not to mention what the addition would do to his perceived NBA readiness. So, Paul, do what I do; mix a little creatine monohydrate with some protein powder, some ice and some milk; take, drink, wait thirty minutes, and hit the weight room--and take Marquis Gray with you.

--To all the know-it-alls who didn't give Maurice Ager his props back in high school, how do you like him now? I can remember hearing everyone talk about how much better Ricardo Billings was. Well, Ricardo should have been a Spartan because he can't be enjoying riding the pine in Columbus. Big ups, Mo, and go make some more posters.

Bring on Kentucky...

Go Spartans.

Out.

Whenever anyone thinks of basketball they naturally think of the shooters. Teams work hard and design their offense to get the ball in the hands of their best shooters. While not every player can be a great shooter, it is a skill that can be developed with practice and the right technique. It's important that the player be well prepared when the opportunity arises.
Shooters are usually either inside shooters or outside shooters. The player that can consistently hit the outside shot is very valuable indeed, as the threat of an outside shooter naturally spreads the defense and allows for the pass to the inside where the percentages are much higher.
When considering outside shooting, the natural thought is to think of the three point shot, probably the most exciting shot in basketball, but the shot from inside the three point line is just as important and needs to be done correctly. There are some basic elements of the jump shot that need to be taught in order to improve performance.
The player should be taught to square up and directly face the basket. When the jump is made, it should be as straight up in the air as possible. This gives the player a more stable platform for the shot. Defensive pressure can prevent a straight up shot, but the player needs to learn to do this correctly when the chance arises. The idea of the jump shot is to get the ball over the head of the opposing player, taking the shot at the top of the jump. The extra power provided by the legs will give the player more range.
When taking the shot, the ball should be held up high, with the elbow of the shooting arm pointed at the goal. The shooting arm will provide the power while the other arm acts as a guide.
After the shot is made, the player should immediately start toward the goal. This is called following the shot. Most players will have a tendency to hang back and watch to see if the shot goes in. Break this habit as early as possible. On an outside shot, a good number of rebounds will be recovered by the shooting player and it never hurts to have an extra man under the goal.
Inside shooting is a little different. The inside game is dominated by bigger players but every player should know how to shoot the ball when close to the goal. While inside shots will be dominated by bigger players, every player should work on the mechanics of the layup. Smaller players, who are usually quicker, will have the opportunity to beat the big man on the move and get the layup.
When the path is clear for the layup shot, the player should move quickly into the lane. Use the leg opposite the shooting hand to make the jump. The biggest mistake young players make is to bang the ball off the back of the glass and have it rebound away from the basket. The ball should be pushed off easily into the glass. Most goals have a square area behind the hoop and this is where the player needs to have his eyes focused. If he can hit this area chances are the shot will go in.
Practice, practice, practice. Regardless of the type of shot it must be practiced over and over again in order to be consistently successful.

I can remember a time when the only things you could win from fantasy baseball games were bragging rights and your entry fee back. My, how things have changed! A quick Internet search revealed that there are some very serious prizes up for grabs in the (literally) thousands of different fantasy leagues out there. Consider a few of the following:

The National Fantasy Baseball Championship is a fantasy game with a $1,250 entry fee. The overall winner receives a whopping $100,000 and a crystal trophy! The game pays out to eighth place overall, awards $5,000 to each of 20 individual league champions, and also distributes weekly prizes, such as jerseys and bats signed by Major League stars.

Another website offers a "high roller" fantasy baseball game in which the winner receives an impressive $50,000 cash prize. The payouts don't stop there. $30,000 goes to the second-place finisher, while third- and fourth-place receive $20,000 and $10,000 respectively. The site offers other games, as well, for those who can't afford the $1,000 entry fee for the high roller game. One of the regular games, with an entry fee of only $39.95, pays $25,000 to the overall winner.

On a third website, with a buy-in of $99.99 per team, the overall winner has a chance to take home $20,000. This game also pays out to 20th place overall and has smaller cash prizes for individual league winners as well.

And then there is the fantasy baseball game hosted by Yahoo! Sports. The grand prize winner receives $15,000 in cash, plus a one-year contract for a position with the San Francisco Giants as an Assistant of Baseball Operations. It is a real job that pays $30,000 for the year. The contest rules stipulate that the winner must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited school and must have previous work experience.


I can't even imagine how competitive these games must be, especially as the season starts to wind down in September and a few clear leaders emerge. To win these kinds of games takes a lot of strategy, skill, a good dose of luck, and, most importantly, an intimate knowledge of baseball. I'd be willing to bet that everyone who participates in a high stakes fantasy baseball game is a major numbers geek and probably keeps spreadsheets to track his or her players' stats throughout the whole season. I know that I wouldn't be able to keep up, so I think I'll stick to my free leagues and play just for the fun of it!

If you have ever traveled through Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania within the past couple years, then you have a pretty decent chance of having seen PNC Park, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Taking a quick look at the stadium, it will seem as if PNC Park is relatively old due to its classic styling. This however is not the case due to the fact that the stadium is relatively new, having opened for the Pittsburgh Pirate's 2001 season.

Compared to the other new baseball stadiums that have been erected in recent years, PNC Park is quite small. Although it is capable of holding some 38,365 people, it is still considered the smallest stadium in the MLB's National League.

Despite its small size when compared to other parks, the beauty of the classic styling is unmatched to any other Major League ballpark. The stadium has a pleasant view of the Allegheny River, along with the Roberto Clemente bridge. Looking over towards right field will give fans the ability to see the skyline of downtown Pittsburgh. Basically any direction in which someone looks, they will be presented with something truly visually appealing.

The location of PNC Park also has some historical significance. It was constructed in the same location as the two previous Pittsburgh Pirate ballparks; Exposition Park (1891 - 1909) and Three Rivers Stadium (1970 - 2001). PNC Park is also situated in clear view of the Roberto Clemente bridge, which is closed off from traffic during baseball games in order to accommodate different activities. The bridge is, of course, named after famous Pirate right fielder that played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 until 1972.

If you ever have a chance to go and see PNC Park, you will be in for a real treat. With such classic styling, and a breathtaking atmosphere, it is no wonder why ESPN's Sportscenter declared PNC Park as "the best stadium in baseball".

One of the most rewarding experiences a parent can enjoy with their children is the opportunity to share participation in youth sports. Many parents will shy away from the chance, because they fell that their own limited knowledge of the game keeps them from being able to make a meaningful contribution. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Even if a parent is unable to be a coach for their child, the chance to spend time learning the basics of a game and helping their child hone his or her skills is invaluable quality time that will be long remembered and appreciated.
Of all youth sports, one of my favorites has been basketball. The pace of the game is exciting; every child has the chance to help his or her team in the game, even if they are not a star player. But in order to be of value to their team, there are some basic skills that need to be developed. In my mind the primary skill a child should develop is dribbling, and for several reasons.
First of all, the ability to handle the ball gives the player the confidence to step out on the court knowing they can contribute. If you have ever spent time watching youth basketball, you'll notice that there are some kids who don't want the ball in their hands. Should they happen to be on the receiving end of a pass or a rebound, they immediately start looking for someone to hand the ball off to. This often results in a turnover because the player lacks the confidence needed to make a positive play. Learning to dribble and handle the ball with confidence is the most important step in building the base on which all other skills are developed.
First step, get your child working on handling the ball on a regular basis. If you have a basketball court available to you that's great but any hard flat surface will do. A driveway, a street with little traffic, a backyard patio, it really doesn't matter where; just make sure it's someplace they can go to regularly.
First step is to make sure the player learns that the key to dribbling is control of the ball. This is done by using the fingers and the thumb, not the palm of the hand. Most kids will start out by slapping the ball with the palm, which means they have almost no control. I will take a small piece of tape and place it on the palm of the hand. This makes the player aware of the palm and helps them to concentrate on using the fingers and not the palm.
Eliminate the tendency to slap the ball. The fingers should come in contact with the ball before it reaches the top of its bounce and follows it up in a natural motion. The hand guides the ball in its upward motion in order to establish control, and then starts it on its downward motion with a push, not a slap.
Start with a stationary dribble. Simply have the player stand still and with the dominant hand begin the dribble, beginning with a slow regular motion. Most older kids will be able to do this easily. My daughter started playing at five years old and most of the kids on her team were able to do this within a few short practice sessions. Just a quick aside: The younger the player the shorter the attention span. If you're working with a five year old, keep your home practice sessions to 15 minutes or so. Save the longer practices for the team practice.
Remember to have the player keep the ball low. A high dribble is not only much harder to control; it's an invitation to have the ball stolen. The dribble should top out somewhere between the knee and the waist. The lower the player can dribble without hunching over the better.
After just a few short sessions, the player should be able to maintain a stationary dribble with no problem. The next step is to have the player concentrate on dribbling without looking at the ball. Simply have them practice dribbling with their eyes focused straight ahead. This is absolutely vital that they develop the confidence to handle the ball without having their eyes on it. When the games begin, they must be able to view the court in order to be aware of opportunities to pass the ball to an open player, and to avoid having the ball stolen.
Once you have your player confident in his ability to dribble with their dominant hand, begin working on the other hand using the same techniques. This will feel awkward to them at first, but practice will increase their comfort level very quickly.
Next comes the ability to switch between hands. I begin by standing on one side of the player and taking a step forward, forcing them to make the change to the other hand. After enough practice, this becomes natural to the player and can be done without even thinking about it.
Next come a few drills while walking with the ball. Have the player dribble while walking at a normal pace for about 20 feet, then switch hands for the return trip. When they begin to feel comfortable with this, you can have them alternate hands between bounces. Take it slow and easy at first. Their natural tendency will be to drop their eyes to the ball when they start to move. Have them practice with their head erect and forward. I like to walk back and forth at a slight distance in front of them while they're learning this drill. This begins the process of learning to be alert and aware of the location of other players while on the court.
As the layer becomes more confident in their ability, the speed of movement is increased gradually, until the player can handle the ball with confidence while moving at a regular jog, then at full speed. Once a player becomes able to move quickly down the court at a good pace with heir head up looking for the open man, you'll have a valuable addition to any basketball team.
As the player develops their skills in handling the ball, it becomes time to start applying some pressure in order to have them develop the habit of using their ball handling skills.
You do this by having the player dribble toward the goal at a good pace while you are standing in front of the goal in a defensive position. Alternate moving from the left to the right as they come toward you, forcing them to change hands while dribbling. Anything you can do to simulate a game type situation will be valuable. Just remember not to overwhelm them with your size or reach. The idea here is to help them develop confidence and stimulate an instinctive feel for handling the ball in a game situation.
Most importantly, have fun. Enjoy the time you spend with your child or the players you are coaching. I can tell you from personal experience that the time passes quickly. Enjoy it while it's there.

I doubt I am the only one who has noticed the up tick in media coverage of the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament. Today, in my local newspaper, the lead story was about Michigan State's 2-point win over the woman of Troy, USC, last night. I assume most people do not take the time to consider why such stories seem to be popping up in print and on television; but, I've taken notice.

Since when do American sports fans care, even a little bit, about women's basketball? The last time I checked, the WNBA was a complete failure in terms of its revenue; and, women's college basketball hasn't faired much better. A fairly recent survey published in the Orlando Sentinel found that in 2002-2003, of the 117 Division 1 woman's programs, only seven actually made more revenue that they lost to expenses. Seven. Now, one has to think there is a reason for this. It's simple; woman's sports do not interest sports fans in the United States. Even women, when given the choice to watch women's or men's sports, choose to watch the men.

Another sad reality of the binary of men's and woman's sports is how one subsidizes the other. At universities like Michigan, Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma etc. woman's sports are paid for by men's football and basketball revenues. So, what's wrong with that? Well, it doesn't really bother me until I read about litigation being levied again universities for not having as many scholarships available for women as for men and for not having as many sports for women and for men. I mean, do we expect are universities to be able to maintain an equal number of sports for men and women even when the women's sports are operating at a loss? Enough already, university sports are not run by UNICEF, they need revenue to operate. So, with the burgeoning number of women's sports and scholarships how have universities decided to handle the upsurge in expenses? Higher tuition and higher ticket prices at popular men's sports. For this, we have Title IX to thank. If you don't know what Title IX is, look it up.

So, getting back to my earlier gripe, why the disproportionate coverage? First, stories about women and athletics give newspapers and other media outlets the opportunity to be seen as progressive and politically correct. I mean, if a newspaper were giving a lot of face time to the Westminister Dog Show, people would complain; but, most people choose to just grin and bear the excessive coverage of women's sports in the media because it can be a touchy subject. Second, media outlets are attempting to latch on to longstanding fervor certain people reserve for their favorite universities. For example, if the University of Michigan--my favorite school--were in the Frozen Four of college hockey, I should probably care about. But, I don't and I think I am in the majority on this one. In my opinion, if a person has no interest in a sport like women's basketball or college hockey, nothing is going to change that--not even a successful team from an alma mater.

Media outlets are really missing the boat on this one. In the long run they are only going to alienate their base--male sports fan--by shoving this tripe down our throats. I can remember being in high school when the NBA starting advertising the WNBA with the slogan, "we got next." Well, the WNBA is yet another women's basketball entity that operates in the red. Without the NBA and its hefty subsidies the WNBA would be in the ground someplace NEXT to the World League of American Football.

I write this not to inflame the very narrow fan base of women's sports, but to merely make a point about media coverage. Giving undue attention to endeavors to which the public is indifferent is not smart. It alienates fans like me and might compel someone to watch woman's basketball, which, if you ask me, is the last thing the NCAA wants you to do. Unless you are watching one of six or seven different teams, you are in for some really ugly basketball. What you'll hear in the media in this: The woman's game is more fundamental, they have better shooters. This is complete nonsense. Anyone who has watched the WBNA or NCAA women's basketball knows that there are more turnovers on the floor than there are bowl-cuts in the stands. I also find it interesting, with respect to shooting, that the women are allowed to use a smaller ball with the same size basket. How then can we make any assertions about who shoots better? It's not even a fair fight.

Woman's sports will always player second fiddle to men's, that is life. Women are not possessed with the same physiology as men and do not even compare athletically. This does not mean that women's sports do not have their place in this country, they most certainly do. But, let's try to be a little more realistic about the interest level in woman's sports in this country--it's just not there.

Down with Title IX.

Out.

When most people think of professional baseball, it seems that it is impossible for Major League Baseball not to be the first and only thing to pop into mind. After all, the MLB Association has been around for more than a hundred years.

While a lot of other baseball leagues have come and gone in the past, today there exists a league known as the Frontier League, which is trying to make a solid impact on baseball fans everywhere. The league is operating with twelve teams spread across the eastern states of the Mississippi river.

How And When The League Was Started

The Frontier League was started in late 1992 / early 1993 and officially became an organization in June 1993 with eight teams which played in local high school / college ballparks.

From its humble beginnings in 1993, the Frontier League has steadily rose in almost every viable area. Over the years the teams have changed their locations, as well as new teams have been introduced into the league. The home fields of the teams have also changed from rugged high school baseball fields to small stadiums devoted specifically towards the specific Frontier League ball club.

Improvements Have Been Made To Increase Fan base

Another improvement the league has seen in recent years is the amount of fans each Frontier League team has. When the league first started out back in 1993, very few people actually paid attention, or even acknowledged the Frontier League. Today, thanks to the drastic improvements in the locations of the ballparks, many people attend Frontier League ballgames.

The Frontier League Isn't The Major League, It's The Frontier League

While the Frontier League is not the Major League, watching a game played by teams of the Frontier League is just as fun as watching a game played by MLB players, and it's way cheaper too. Still there are lots of high profile players playing for the Frontier League. If you check out the Frontier League's official website (http://www.frontierleague.com/) you will see that Frontier League players are drafted by the MLB Association on a day to day basis.

So if you just like going out with friends and / or family and having a fun time, perhaps you should go and watch a Frontier League baseball game this upcoming season. As mentioned before, there are twelve teams, and if you live in the north eastern United States, chances are you live close to one of the following twelve teams;

East Division Teams ;

Washington Wild Things (Pennsylvania)
Chillicothe Paints (Ohio)
Evansville Otters (Indiana)
Florence Freedom (Kentucky)
Ohio Valley Redcoats (Illinois)
Richmond Roosters (Indiana)

West Division Teams;

Kalamazoo Kings (Michigan)
Gateway Grizzlies (Illinois)
Mid-Missouri Mavericks (Missouri)
Rockford RiverHawks (Illinois)
River City Rascals (Missouri)
Windy City ThunderBolts (Illinois)

So sometime while you are sitting at home looking for something to do this summer, perhaps you should check out a ballgame involving teams from the Frontier League. Remember, the ball players on these teams are not exactly out there playing for the money, but rather for the love of the game, and that is something that is worth every penny of the small ticket price.

The man of the hour, Jose Canseco has brought the real life drama of using steroids in Major League Baseball to the masses with his recently released book entitled; Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big. The book has been receiving a lot of free publicity lately in all the different forms of media ranging from radio talk shows to reviews of the book in local newspapers. The only problem with this entire free media coverage is that a lot of people do not really know the whole situation of Jose Canseco. You see, Jose retired from baseball back in 2002, but his career was always blanketed with him receiving abuse for his usage of steroids.

But what about his career? The only thing that has been going on in the media about Jose Canseco is the fact that he has written a book telling the world about the usage of anabolic steroids in
Major League Baseball, and the fact that Jose Canseco was one of the most, if not the most amazing baseball player of the late 1980's / early 1990's.

The Start of Jose Canseco's Baseball Career

Jose Canseco made a big splash when he first became enrolled in the American League in 1986, under the Oakland Athletics. With thirty three home runs in his first season, he was declared as the American League Rookie of the Year. His first season was just a taste of what was to come. The following season, he was joined by first baseman Mark McGwire, and both players helped the Oakland
Athletics totally rip apart the other teams for several years.

In 1988 Canseco did something that no other Major League ball player had ever done before. In a single season, Canseco hit forty home runs, and stole forty bases. That is quite an accomplishment, and helped award Jose with the award of being the American League's Most Valuable Player of 1988. The officials in the Major League Baseball association even created a 40 / 40 club, in which he was the initial member. (40/40 club refers to the forty home runs, and the forty stolen bases)

After the wonderful baseball season, which was 1988, Jose Canseco finally had what some would call a bad season. Early in 1989, Jose Canseco found himself to be injured for what would be considered
most of the season. This was also the only year the Oakland Athletics would win the World Series with Jose Canseco being a member of the team.

In 1990 Jose Canseco came back to his initial strength, with an amazing forty-four home runs. The Athletics also made it to the World Series this year, however they were defeated in four games by
the Cincinnati Reds. After 1990, the rest of the 1990s were not really nice to Jose Canseco. In 1992 he was traded from the Oakland Athletics to the Texas Rangers, and with this trade, Jose's career began to slow.

The Beginning of The End

Soon, Jose Canseco would be thrown around from team to team with a long list of injuries. Jose left the Texas Rangers for the Red Sox starting in the '95 season. His stint with the Red Sox only lasted two years before he began playing with his original team, the Oakland Athletics for a single season, before playing for the Blue Jays for a season.

After jumping around teams, (two teams in two years) Jose Canseco found some job security, as he played two seasons with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before playing for the Yankees and White Sox, each for a season respectively. Jose Canseco really did not have much of a chance to really show what he was capable of after 1997, mostly because he was always too busy changing teams, and not spending time towards a devoted team. In the end however, Jose Canseco called it quits and retired from baseball at the end of the 2002 season.

A Truly Great Ballplayer

Jose Canseco should always be remembered for his early years with the Oakland Athletics. He should also be, as mentioned earlier, one of the best, if not the best outfielders of the late 1980's / early 1990's. Now that you know a small bit of information about his career, you will now be able to understand his stance on the whole usage of anabolic steroids by reading his book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big.

In recent years, the NBA Trade deadline has brought with it a flurry of last minute deals as teams out of the title chase and the playoff hunt essentially give up on their seasons. Attempting to cut costs, these teams unload players with high salaries, hoping to free up future cap room to seek new free agents in the off season. In return, these teams welcome draft choices that may help further the rebuilding process.

On the flip side, teams on the playoff bubble or looking to make a title run have responded by trading for high salaried players, hoping the trades bring the missing piece of the puzzle. In 2004, the Detroit Pistons pulled such a last minute swap, securing the talents of Rasheed Wallace in what was then termed a block buster move. That trade proved to be everything the Pistons could want, pushing the team over the top and setting the stage for their surprising title run.

This year NBA fans witnessed the same flurry of moves. Among the major names to be moved, the struggling New Orleans Hornets traded talented guard Baron Davis to Golden State. Retooling its team, the Sacramento Kings unloaded All Star forward Chris Webber and his huge contract to the Philadelphia 76ers while the floundering Atlanta Hawks likewise dumped Antoine Walker's contract in a trade with the Boston Celtics.

Of all the trades, the one thought to have the most positive impact on one team was the 76ers-Kings deal that moved Webber to 76ers. Philadelphia had been battling Boston for the Atlantic Division title and the NBA pundits saw the acquisition of Webber has being the missing piece for the Sixers.

Webber was thought to be the strong power forward the 76ers needed, the player that could take some of the load off of the irrepressible Allen Iverson. NBA Beat writers heaped mounds of praise upon Philadelphia management for bringing so much talent to the team and critical support for Iverson. These same pundits immediately anointed the Sixers as the team to beat in the Atlantic Division and even insisted the team had become a potential Eastern Conference finalist that could compete with the Pistons and the Heat.

In Boston, the Celtics deal for Walker was panned as another mistake by General Manager Danny Ainge. The former Celtic, now in his second year running the basketball operations for Boston, had traded Walker away the year before, questioning the leadership of the power forward and insinuating that Walker wanted more money than he was worth. Re-acquiring Walker caught everyone in Boston by surprise.

Making the deal extra puzzling, Ainge traded away a number one draft choice and point guard Gary Payton in the deal. Payton had been one of the Celtics most consistent performers in the 2004-2005 season and had served as a positive role model for some of Boston's younger players. Celtic fans were especially peeved at the trade as the team was giving up a future number one draft choice and did not have a player ready to assume the important point guard role.

But as curious as the deal seemed, it is the Celtics who have seen the trade deadline serve as the catalyst to put the team over the hump. Since Walker's return, the Celtics have gone on the type of winning streak the Sixers was supposed to see. The Celtics have won eleven of the twelve games since the trade and have taken a five and a half game lead in the Division thought to be Philadelphia's at the time of the deadline.

Topping off the unusual nature of the trade, Payton insisted he would not play for the Hawks so Atlanta bought out the former Celtic point guard's contract. After the buyout, Payton promptly resigned with the Celtics for the remainder of the 2005 season. Now the Celtics have Walker and Payton, along with a lengthy winning streak and first place in the standings. Ainge's critics are now starting to admit that he may have made the steal of the NBA trade deadline.

Stalwart Celtic fans are cautiously optimistic. The move may have pushed the team to the top of the Atlantic Division but the Eastern Conference is still the home of the World Champion Pistons and the Shaq-led, Miami Heat. However, the Celtics are now a solid third in the Conference behind those titans and the re-acquisition of Antoine Walker appears to have turned the Celtics into a legitimate playoff contender.

By Jared Field

The month of March is the greatest month for sports every year, and this year is no different. Yesterday I took my yearly sojourn to the Breslin Center, on the campus of Michigan State University, for the Michigan High School Basketball semi-finals. This makes for an exciting and inexpensive weekend of the best high school hoops Michigan has to offer. This weekend has afforded me a little time to stop and think about the state of high school basketball today, and where it is headed for the future. Being a basketball junkie, I have a very solid foundation of knowledge supporting my thoughts and opinions on the sport. I have written numerous times on the pervasive money culture in the National Basketball Association, as well as the propensity of college basketball's best to leave school early for the NBA. But, I have never made it a habit of criticizing high school sports, commensurately. High school basketball, my favorite sport to watch, has been regressing over the past few years. Not, necessarily, in terms of its popularity or its excitement, but with respect to quality of play. In addition to this, I think many programs have forgotten that high school basketball teams are not farm clubs for college--most players will never play at the next level. I firmly believe that the declination of the quality of high school basketball, at least in my state, can be attributed to just a few very specific things:
1.) Early recruitment
2.) AAU
3.) "potential"

Early Recruitment

College coaches and prep analysts do not even allow players to develop before they become targets of interest. Coach Bobby Knight, the former head man at Indiana University, freely admits to recruiting his former star guard, Damon Bailey, in the eighth grade. Where I come from that is middle school. Not only does early recruitment, such as this, taint the quality of play in high school basketball, it also dilutes the quality of the college game. Players often do not round into form the way recruiters expect, thus wasting precious scholarships and time on underdeveloped players. In addition to this, oftentimes early recruitment becomes an impediment to high school coaches. I have seen numerous high school players of promise become selfish before my very eyes--players who begin to read their own press clippings and hype in publications like Vince Baldwin's PrepSpotlight. Early recruitment has given players an excuse to become too big for their britches, at the expense of their coaches and teammates. I am of the opinion that these young people should not be contacted by recruiters until the summer prior to their senior year. This way student can concentrate more of their time on schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and just being kids.

AAU

AAU basketball, at least in terms of its inflated importance to high school basketball recruiting, is relatively new. In the state of Michigan it has surpassed the actual high school basketball season as the most important venue for the appraisal of talent. AAU leagues in Michigan basically amount to summer leagues for players that have been deemed to be college-bound, or at least have shown signs of POTENTIAL--players angling for scholarship opportunities. Just this season I have seen numerous players in my hometown hyped for their performances on the AAU circuit, only to be brought back down to earth when the ACTUAL season began. AAU was not good for these players because it over inflated their ACTUAL ability. AAU basketball, truth be told, is no different than your run-of-the-mill pro-am exhibition; teams do not play defense. Players with average scoring ability are made to look great and players with great scoring ability are made to look like phenomenons. In spite of this, college coaches and recruiters still lean heavily upon AAU basketball--and not just because they have more free time in the summer. The evolving importance of early recruitment and AAU basketball to high school recruiting both hinges upon one word, POTENTIAL.

"POTENTIAL"

Everything in high school basketball recruiting these days can be summarized with one word, "POTENTIAL." Players are no longer critiqued simply on how they play the game--their ability. Nowadays, players accrue or relinquish value like cattle on the futures market. The question is not how good a player is, but how good a player MIGHT be. The sole criterion for judging a player in this way is his physical prowess, plain and simple. Height is everything. If a player has height he is worth recruiting, no matter what. In my hometown, there are two highly recruited post players, one a 6 foot 9 senior and the other a 7 foot junior. Neither one of these players could fight their way out of a wet paper sack. They are underdeveloped, underweight and are the benefactors of having the hype machine working for them early on. Meanwhile, at a school closer to the city, there is a six foot five inch player who can play three positions, with tremendous shooting and ball-handling ability, who has been overlooked because he's been dubbed a "tweener"--one who doesn't fit the prototypical size pattern. At what point are we going to realize the success on the basketball court is not a factor of prototypes? The sole criterion, in my mind, should be how well you can play the game. Measurements of POTENTIAL and TALENT only take you so far, one must keep tabs on how those things translate onto the court. Here is a list of Michigan basketball players, high school, college and professional, who embody the binary at hand: Should basketball recruiting be about kinesis or potential? The Kinetic Kids

(Suppliers of motive force. Buzzwords: "gamers," "tweeners," "positionless," not widely recruited etc.)

Here is a list that I have compiled of players, in the last 7 or 8 years, who have had great success at the game of basketball in spite of little interest in early recruitment, AAU face-time, or tremendous hype. Many of these players were labeled, "tweeners" long before they ever got to college. These players were all great in high school, but most were not considered prototypes. --Shane Battier 6'8'' 220 lbs, Detroit Country Day High School: Shane was heavily recruited out of high school and went to Duke. But, after spending four years at Duke playing impeccable basketball and improving every year, he was passed over by 5 different teams before being picked. The first overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft was Kwame Brown, the poster-boy for POTENTIAL. In his intervening 4 years in the NBA, Brown has averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds per game. Compare that to Battier, who has averaged 11 points and 5 rebounds per game and playing better defense.
--Takias Brown 6'9'' 240 lbs, Flint Central High School: Takias is a dominant power forward who came into his own late in his high school career. He proved himself to be the best big man on the floor at the BCAM all-star game last year; a game in which he outshined post players who had already received scholarships from Rutgers and Michigan State. Tak is currently playing JUCO ball in Illinois. Tak Brown: Good size, no hype, no D-1 scholarship.
--Corey Santee 6'2'' 185 lbs, Flint Southwestern Academy: Couldn't jump over a roll of quarters but started at point guard for TCU for four years. He averaged 15 points and 4.5 assists per game for his career. Not heavily recruited in or out of state. Helped groom Brandon Bell into a legit D-1 caliber player.
--D'Mario Curry 6'6'' 190 lbs, Madison Heights High School: I can offer no explanation for his lack of recruitment. He has the size and the talent. I must be missing something.
--Nick Stapelton 6'0'' 175 lbs, Flint Carman-Ainsworth High School: Not heavily recruited because of his size, just barely six feet tall. But, he started four seasons for Austin Peay at point guard leading them in scoring and assists for his final two seasons. His senior year Nick was in the top five in the nation in scoring.
--David Hoskins 6'5'' 225 lbs, Plymouth-Salem High School: Passed on by high D-1 programs, Hoskins played the wing for Central Michigan and Schoolcraft Community College before transferring to Kansas State.
--Anthony Townsend 6'2'' 195 lbs, Wyoming Kelloggsville High School: I've lost track of Anthony, but I cannot imagine him not playing at all. He was third team all-state with D'Mario Curry, but lacks the kind of size recruiters are looking for.
--Robert McRae 6'1'' 180 lbs, Grand Blanc High School: Played his freshman season for Saginaw Valley State and his sophomore season for Coach Schmidt at Mott Community College. Robert is a great shooter and a great athlete, hardly a gamble.
--Zach McGee, 6'3'' 190 lbs, Flint Carman-Ainsworth High School: Outrebounded 6' 10''Michigan State signee, Goran Suton, in the Michigan class A state championship game last year. But, at only 6'3'' he was only recruited by a handful of smaller D-1 and JUCO programs. McGee is very capable of playing shooting guard or small forward at the next level, regardless of his size.
--Matt Jakeway 6'4'' 205 lbs, Flushing High School: Matt passed up football for basketball, finishing out his career as a starter for Kent State. Not heavily recruited for basketball.
--Mike Gaines 5'9'' 165 lbs, Flint Central High School: Deemed to small to play Division 1. I know better. Amazing handles, great shooter, instant excitement on the floor.
--Brandon Stephens 6'5'' 225 lbs, Flint Carman-Ainsworth High School: Did not gain a lot of experience in high school, having only played one and a half seasons of varsity. But, when he did play, he was the best in his conference. This past season, he led his team to the district title averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds per game. He can play shooting guard, small forward or power forward at the next level. But, because he was pigeonholed into playing the center position in high school, he has been overlooked by most D-1 recruiters.
--Derek Fracalossi 6'4'' 210 lbs, Davison High School: Not heavily recruited by D-1 schools because of his lack of size for his natural position, small forward. Frac is a smart player, a good athlete, and should be able to contribute at Western Michigan as a preferred walk-on.
--William Hatcher 6'2'' 190 lbs, Flint Carman-Ainsworth High School: Not heavily recruited out of high school because of his smallish stature. At just over six feet tall, he lacks the advantage of seeing over his defenders. But, in spite of this, Hatcher led the University of Miami-Ohio to the regular season title in the Mid-America Conference. He started at point guard, and averaged 10 points and 3 assists per game.
--Derrick Nelson, 6'4'' 220 lbs Lansing Everett High School: Playing out of position in high school, at least by collegiate standards, but is a hard-nosed defender an